Daddario XSE1252W

if you play "jazzbox" guitars, the hollow-body type with the traditional f-holes, you may be opt for traditional flat-would strings, or the more contemporary round-wound ones.

and, if you like their strings coated, for lower friction at fingering, extended durability, and (last but not least) the lack of that disgusting smell that most non-coated strings release, after a short while, there were not many options available, if a wound-G string was needed, in the 012-052 weight set of strings...

it's typical of jazz guitar, if you're "comping" harmony on the four lowest strings... you try it with the non-wound G string of any typical solidbody electric, and it sounds alien, somewhat out of place.

there was only a brand, until now, and the one i've been using for the past twenty years, with low-friction coated (wound-G) .012–.052 nickel-plated round-wound steel strings – Gore.

these D'Addario XSE do what they did, at first touch: tone-wise they match my expectation, feel-wise too, and they stay in tune only after a few minutes you've stretched them on anew.

there's even room for a couple of improvements that i wasn't expecting, too: their core appears to me less stiff than that of Elixirs, therefore winding them tight onto tuning machines' shafts requires less effort – and, even better, the wrapped-around ball-side end of un-wounded strings (here: B and high-E) appears to have been soldered, so the final turn won't bite or puncture neither the most delicate skin on hands and fingers!

can't say how long they'll last, yet – but, given these two functional improvements, i'm ok even if they'll last a day (or week, or month) less than Elixirs.

Je viens de les monter sur une Godin A6 Ultra HG. Elles ont les caractéristiques préconisées par GODIN. Effectivement, ça sonne bien, sans être typé, pas de coloration particulière, c'est équilibré et propre. Le côté impressionnant, c'est le confort de jeu. J'avais déjà des Addario, même tirant, mais en folk. On ressent un gros écart avec la sensation qu'on à monté des cordes plus légères, c'est presque déstabilisant, mais on s'y fait très vite, et on "pose" les doigts, plutôt qu'on "appuie" sur les cordes ! Très sympa.